Margaret Thatcher at the end of the 1989 Conservative Party conference in Blackpool (Picture: AFP/Getty)

One of the most significant and controversial chapters in British political history came to an end today with the announcement Margaret Thatcher had died aged 87 from a stroke.

The first-ever female UK prime minister, Baroness Thatcher dominated the political landscape in the 1980s, eventually carving out a new political consensus.

Prime minister David Cameron said parliament would be recalled for a special session on Wednesday in order for tributes to be paid.

‘Margaret Thatcher didn’t just lead our country – she saved our country,’ he said outside Downing Street.

‘Margaret Thatcher took a country that was on its knees and made Britain stand tall again.’

Arguably the most divisive figure in British politics, the grocer’s daughter won three general elections after taking on Argentina over the Falklands and the unions closer to home.

But she remained until the day of her death something of a hate figure for those on the left, being accused of devastating working class communities, particularly in the north of the country.

Mr Cameron went on to say: ‘We can’t deny that Lady Thatcher divided opinion. For many of us, she was and is an inspiration. For others she was a force to be defined against.

‘But if there is one thing that cuts through all of this – one thing that runs through everything she did – it was her lion-hearted love for this country.’

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Buckingham Palace, where like No 10 Downing Street flags flew at half-mast, said the Queen was sad to hear the news of the death of Baroness Thatcher and would be sending a private message of sympathy to the family.

Barack Obama led tributes from around the globe, saying the world ‘has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend’.

Tony Blair – whose transformation of the Labour party was described by Baroness Thatcher as her greatest achievement – said the former PM was a ‘towering political figure’.

‘Very few leaders get to change not only the political landscape of their country but of the world,’ the former prime minister said. ‘Margaret was such a leader.’

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher stands in a British tank during a visit to British forces in Fallingbostel, some 120km (70 miles) south of Hamburg, Germany. on Sept. 17, 1986. Thatchers former spokesman, Tim Bell, said that the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had died Monday morning, April 8, 2013, of a stroke. She was 87.(AP Photo/Jockel Fink)

Former U.S. first lady Nancy Reagan meets with Lady Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great Britain, at the Blair House in Washington, D.C. on June 10, 2004. (Picture: REUTERS/Pete Souza/ 2004 Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)

Margaret Thatcher (Picture: Sergio Gaudenti/Kipa/Corbis)

Margaret Thatcher listening to a speaker during a defence session on the second day of the Conservative Party Conference in the Bournemouth International Centre, October 2000. (Picture: EPA/GERRY PENNY)

Margaret Thatcher in 1969. (Picture: AP Photo/File)

A puppet Margaret Thatcher on display at a Sotheby’s auction of Spitting Image puppets in 2001 (Picture: Toby Melville/PA Wire)

Baroness Thatcher, with her children Mark and Carol, aged six, at their home in Farnborough, Kent in 1959 (Picture: PA)

File photo dated 18/04/79 of Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher holding her namesake, Maggie a Charolais calf, during her electioneering tour of East Anglia. Baroness Thatcher died this morning following a stroke, her spokesman Lord Bell said. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Monday April 8, 2013. See PA story DEATH Thatcher. Photo credit should read: PA/PA Wire

(FILES) – A picture dated December 3, 2008 shows Baroness Margaret Thatcher at the State Opening of Parliament in London. Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who shaped a generation of British politics, died following a stroke on April 8, 2013 at the age of 87, her spokesman said. AFP PHOTO/Dominic Lipinski/POOL/FILESDominic Lipinski/AFP/Getty Images

(FILES) – A picture dated November 23, 2009 shows former British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher (C) posing for a photograph with then Prime Minister Gordon Brown (R) and his wife Sarah (L) outside 10, Downing Street in London following a meeting to unveil a specially commissioned portrait of Thatcher. Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who shaped a generation of British politics, died following a stroke on April 8, 2013 at the age of 87, her spokesman said.AFP PHOTO / Carl CourtCARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images

FILE – In a Oct. 12, 1961 file photo, Mrs Margaret Thatcher, the newly-appointed Joint Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Pensions and national Insurance, talks with the Minister John Boyd Carpenter, as she begins her new job at the Ministry, in London. Thatchers former spokesman, Tim Bell, said that the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had died Monday morning, April 8, 2013, of a stroke. She was 87. (AP Photo/Bob Dear, File)

FILE – APRIL 8: Baroness Thatcher Dies Aged 87 – Later years and Miscellaneous LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 27: A portrait by of Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown by photographer Tom Miller, hangs at Number 10 Downing Street on April 27, 2011 in London, England. The portrait joins those of other former British Prime Ministers including Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, James Callaghan, Edward Heath and Harold Wilson. (Photo by Dan Kitwood – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

(FILES) – A picture dated October 23, 2995 shows former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher blowing out the candles on her birthday cake at a celebration marking her 70th birthday in Washington. Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who shaped a generation of British politics, died following a stroke on April 8, 2013 at the age of 87, her spokesman said. AFP PHOTO/FILES/RICHARD ELLISRICHARD ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images

(FILES) A picture dated June 9, 2004 shows former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher reaching out to touch the flag draped coffin of former US President Ronald Reagan as he lies in state in the rotunda of the US Capitol. Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who shaped a generation of British politics, died following a stroke on April 8, 2013 at the age of 87, her spokesman said. AFP PHOTO/FILES/Stephen JAFFESTEPHEN JAFFE/AFP/Getty Images

File photo dated 09/06/1984 of Queen Elizabeth II, American President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Buckingham Palace when they attended a special banquet hosted by the Queen following the London Economic Summit. Baroness Thatcher died this morning following a stroke, her spokesman Lord Bell said. PA/PA Wire

File photo dated 14/02/1987 of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and husband Denis at the St Valentine’s Day wedding of their son Mark to Texan millionaire’s daughter, Diane Burgdorf, in the Parlour Room at the Savoy Hotel, in London. Baroness Thatcher died this morning following a stroke, her spokesman Lord Bell said.: PA/PA Wire

File photo dated 05/06/1980 of Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher sharing a joke with England footballers, left to right, Kevin Keegan, Terry McDermott, Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes and other members of the international squad outside 10 Downing Street. Baroness Thatcher died this morning following a stroke, her spokesman Lord Bell said.: PA/PA Wire

Margaret Thatcher, pictured in 1975, was never one for trousers (Picture: PA)

File photo dated 02/05/1979 of the corner shop in Grantham which was owned by the parents of Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher. Baroness Thatcher died this morning following a stroke, her spokesman Lord Bell said. PA/PA Wire

‘Margaret Thatcher did great hurt to the Irish and British people during her time as British prime minister,’ Mr Adams said.

Elsewhere, former Labour MP George Galloway provoked anger on Twitter by saying she should ‘burn in the hellfires’ for describing Nelson Mandela as a terrorist.

This kind of reaction to Baroness Thatcher’s death caused New York-based ex-Tory MP Louise Mensch to respond with the words: ‘Pygmies of the left so predictably embarrassing yourselves, know this: not a one of your leaders will ever be globally mourned like her.’

Lady Thatcher earned a place in the history books as the first woman prime minister when she entered Downing Street in 1979.